Google Maps Mania has just highlighted Enkin, a slick new augmented reality program that is being built for the Android platform.

You’ve probably seen demos like this before, but this one sounds like it’s pretty much ready to launch. The developers say that some Android hardware will have the necessary components built in (compass, GPS and camera), so would expect that we’ll be able to use this software later in the year!

Google has just updated Google Maps Mobile to version 2.2. The primary enhancement in this version is public transit — now you can get information on bus, train and ferry routes right from your mobile.

Google Earth Blog has a story about a digital earth product called Earthscape. Earthscape is a desktop program that aims to be similar to Google Earth (and others). It may end up being a decent product, but that’s not the point of this post.

At Where 2.0 last week, GEB author Frank Taylor was shown an iPhone application that uses their product. Not only does it handle the top down view (like Google Maps Mobile), but you can pan down into a 3D view! Taking it a step further, the application responds to tilting, so you can move the phone around in your hand to change the view.

The application has some work to be done before it can be released, but it shows a ton of potential. Below is the video that Frank took and you can read more about it in this blog post:

(via VE / LM) Yesterday at CES in Las Vegas, Bill Gates showed off a completely fake but completely cool demo of Virtual Earth on a handheld device. The technology used in the demo is still a few years away, but it’s a cool glimpse at the future.

One thing that stood out to me in the demo was the trees in the 3D city. Microsoft has hinted before that they’re working on getting trees into VE, and I’d love to see that happen soon. I don’t think this demo indicates that they’re coming anytime soon, but I’d obviously expect to see them in the desktop version of VE before they appear in a mobile version.

In my brief testing, it seems very similar to Google Maps Mobile, though I give a slight edge to Google. Their app seems to load tiles a bit faster and it’s much smoother when moving, but they’re really very close.

I’m hoping this release forces Google to bring out more mobile products, or at least enhance their existing ones. Google Maps Mobile is great, but certainly could be better in a few areas.

With so many people traveling over the next 10 days, I thought it would be worth reminding you about the excellent Google Maps Mobile.

The searching and directions are neat, but the live traffic is the real killer feature in this product. It saved us a good deal of time yesterday (don’t go down 75 — take 285 around) , and will likely be a big help again tomorrow.

Their latest update also included “My Location”, which is a simulated GPS using cell tower information. My phone has GPS (N95 FTW), but this is a useful feature on my wife’s BlackJack.

Bottom line: If you have a compatible phone, GMM is a must have during the holidays.

Google has just released a new version of Google Maps for mobile today. This version includes a new feature called “My Location”. By using cell tower triangulation, it can pinpoint your location to within a few hundred meters. It’s not as accurate as GPS, but it’s pretty darn good.

In addition, it can assist with your location if you already have GPS. It will typically kick in more quickly than GPS and works better indoors.